Mail-bag catcher.



0. B. MCBRIDE.

MAIL BAG CATCHER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7. 1915.

Patented June 13, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I l THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 20., WASHINGTQN, D. C.

'c. B. McBRlDE.

MAIL BAG CATCHER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 1. 1916.

Patented June 13, 1916.

2 SHEETS -SHEET 2- THI: COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH C04, WASHINGTON. D. C.

CHARLES B. MCBRIDE, 0F SEBRING, OHIO.

MAIL-BAG- CAT-CHER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented-June 13, 191

Application filed February 7, 1916. Serial No. 7 6,801.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES B. MCBRIDE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sebring, in the county of 'Mahoning and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catchers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mail bag catchers, and it has for its object to produce a simple and improved device capable of being mounted exteriorly on an ordinary railway mail car and by the use of which a mail bag may be caught when the train is moving at high speed without danger of cutting or injuring the bag or of injuring the contents thereof. 4

A. further object of the invention is to produce a device of the character described which may be readily manipulated from the inside of the car without the operator neces-.

. sarily exposing himself.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and improved mail bag catcher which will be adapted to operate equally well irrespective of the extent to which the bags have been filled.

With these and other ends in view which will readily appcar as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited,

but that changes, alterations and modifications within the scope of the claims may be resorted to when desired.

In the drawings,Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, showing a portion of a railway car to which the improved catcher has been applied, the catcher being shown in position for operation. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the catcher as seen in Fig. 1, the side wall of the car being shown in section on the line 22 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the catcher taken on the line 3-3 in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a sectional view 7 taken on the line H in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a side elevation showing the appearance of the device when folded, showing the position of the catcher when not in use. Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 in Fig. '5.

Fig.7 is a perspective detail view of the slide 4'8.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are denoted by like characters of reference.

A supporting bracket B isprovided, the I same comprising a pair of substantially L-shaped end members 15, 16 connected together by a brace 17 and having feet 18 'secured on the side wall .19 of a railway car, the brace 17 being provided with an extension 20 which is likewise terminally secured on the side wall of the car. The end members 1'5, 16 which may be designated, respectively, as the front and rear end members according to the direction of movement of the car are provided with U-shaped clips brackets 31 for the passage of a hinge member, such as a bolt '32, which latter also engages the inverted U-shaped clip '26 associated with the rearward end member 16 of the bracket 13. Thedivergent rear pertions 29, 30 of the side members 27, 28 are provided with grooves 33 in their inner side faces for the reception of a spring 34, where by the rearward end portions are forced apart, thereby forcing the forward ends of the side members in the direction ofeach other. The side member 27 which, when the device is in operation, is nearestthe side wall of the car and which may be designated as the inner side member, is provided l with levers consisting of yokes35, 36, pivotaily connected with and straddling the said side member, the bridge portion of said yokes constituting handles whereby they may be manipulated, and the leversof the respective .yokes being connected by cross pieces 37, 38 which are' ada pted to bear against the proximate face of the side member '28 so that by manipulating either one of said levers or yokes, the forward ends of the side members may be spaced apart against the tension of the spring 34:. The side member 28 is provided with a projection or stop member .39 lying inthe path of the cross piece 37 of the yoke or lever 35, thereby limiting the movement of the latter and preventing it from being accidentally disengaged from the side member 28. The opposed faces of the two side members have been shown as being provided with transverse grooves 40 wherein, when the side members are collapsed, the cross pieces 37, 38 may be accommodated, it being understood that said cross pieces when desired may be equipped with anti-friction rollers of well known construction, not shown. The yoke or lever 35 is located a suitable distance in advance of the yoke or lever 36.

Securely mounted upon and carried by the inverted U-shaped clip 25 associated with the forward end member 15 is an elongated keeper 41 through which the side members 27, 28 are guided, said keeper being of proper dimensions to permit the said side members to be expanded against the tension of the spring 34.- The keeper 41 is provided at one end thereof with a lip 42 having a slot 43 adapted for engagement with a latch device which is mounted exteriorly on the wall of the car, said latch device comprising aframe 44, theside members of which are slotted for the passage of a latch bolt 45 having a. handle portion 46 which extends through the side wall of the car so that said latch bolt may be manually retracted against the tension of its actuating spring 47. Fitted for vertical movement on the outermost side member of the frame 44 is a slide 48 having a slot 49 for the passage of the beveled end of the latch bolt 45, said slide being also provided at its upper end with a flange 50 lying in the path of that end of the keeper 41 which is provided with the lip '42, the slot in which,

43, is adapted for registry with the slot 49 in the. slide 48. Connected with the inner side member 27 of the catch is one end of a flexible element 21, such as a cord or chain, the same being guided through an opening 52 in the side wall of the car so as to be within reach of the operator who is stationed within the car.

53 is the door opening in the side wall of the car.

To facilitate the operation of the device the side members 27, 28 have been shown as being provided on their undersides with suitably supported anti-friction rollers 54 engaging the keeper 41 through which said side members are guided.

In the operation of the device, the catch is moved to'an approximately horizontal position by pulling on the cord 51, thereby swinging the device about the axes of the pintles 24 until the inner end of the keeper 41 strikes the flange 50 of the slide 48, the latter being thus lifted until the bolt 45, which has meanwhile been retained in re- N The catch will thus be maintained in a substantially horizontal position while the operator, by manipulating the yoke or lever 35, spreads the forward'ends of the side menr bers 27, 28 apart against the tension of the spring 34, the side members being maintained in a spread or open position by ongagement with the cross piece 37 of the yoke 35 with the side wall of the opposed side member. When a mail bag is encountered, said bag being supported ina crane of ordinary well known construction, such bag will enter between the divergent front portions of the side members 27, 28, the yoke or lever 35 being by contact with the bag disengaged from the outer side member 28, causing the forward ends of the side members to close upon the bag under the influence of the spring. The latch bolt is now retracted by the operator from within the car, thus permitting the catcher to drop to the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6, when the operator, by manipulating the yoke or lever 38, may spread the side members of the catcher apart sufficiently to release the bag which is now drawn within the car.

With the mail bag catchers in present use the bag becomes wedged between the divergent side members of the catcher and is thereby frequently torn and injured especially when the train is moving at high speed. By the use of the improved device the mail bag does not become wedged, but is simply caught between the two spring actuated side members of the catcher which will hold it securely without wedging until the bag is removed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

1. In a mail bag catcher, a supporting bracket having front and rear end members, clips swiveled on said end members, inverted U-shaped clips hingedly connected with the swiveled clips, a pair of side members having laterally extending brackets, a hinge member extending through said brackets and connected with the inverted clip of one end member, and akeeper through which the side members are guided, said keeper being connected with the inverted clip of the other end member.

2. A mail bag catcher including a pair of side members having laterally extending brackets and divergent rear end portions, a hinge member extending through the brackets, a supporting member with which the hinge member is connected, aspring arranged to force apart the rearward ends of the sidemembers, a keeper through which the side members are guided, and a supporting member with which the keeper is con nected; and other supporting members with which the first mentioned supporting members are hingedly connected.

3. In a mail bag catcher, a pair of side members having laterally extending brackets and divergent rear end portions provided with grooves in their proximate faces, a spring engaging said grooves, a hinge member extending through the brackets, a supporting member with which the hinge member is connected, a keeper through which the side members are guided, a supporting member with which the keeper is connected, yokes or levers connected with one side member and straddling the same, said yokes having cross pieces adapted to engage the opposed face of the other side member, and a stop member connected with the last mentioned side member to limit the movement of one of the yokes. A

4. In a mail bag catcher, a pair of spring actuated side members, a pin whereby said side members are hingedly connected together, a keeper through which the side members are guided, said keeper having a downturned slotted lip, supporting means with which the hinge pin and the keeper are a connected, other supporting means with spring, and a latch device, the latter embodymg a supported frame, a spring actuated bolt extending therethrough and having a beveled end and a handle whereby it may be retracted, and a slotted slide whereby the latch bolt may be normally retained in retracted position, said slide having a flange adapted to be engaged by that end of the keeper which has the slotted lip, said slotted lip being adapted for engagement with the latch bolt. I

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

v CHARLES B. MCBRIDE.

Witnesses:

W. B. STEVENSON, H. R. EWING.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cent: each, by addressing the "Commissioner of intents, Washington. D. C. 

